Authors Note: This story is still in the process of being written. This is chapter one. It is all fiction. Some of what I wrote may have/did happen, but don't take it to be real. Enjoy! Tamy. xo
Impressing Kate
10 Ways to Impress a Girl
Suggestion number one: Cook her favourite meal. Even if you can't pull it off trying it will make her head spin.
"Speaking of dates, what is your idyllic first date meal?"
Catherine paused for a moment and pursed her lips. She had been sat across the table from Fergus for almost 2 hours with all of her notes in front of her, but neither of them had the motivation to get any work done. Instead they had sat and talked about anything they could possibly think of in hopes of procrastination.
"Something Italian. There's something so sexy about Italian men and their dishes. The food in Florence was flawless."
Fergus snickered and rolled his eyes. "That's very original, Kate."
"You can laugh as much as you like but I bet you can't cook penne al'arrabiata worthy of rivalling Jamie Oliver." Catherine retorted, doodling absentmindedly on one of her pieces of paper.
With a smirk, he responded. "I don't think any guy in this university is chef material so don't have too high expectations of the food on your date with William tonight."
Catherine glared at him and threw her pen down on the table for effect. "It is not a date."
"Oh it so is," A female voice teased and Catherine whipped her head around to find Olivia hurling four Waitrose bags onto the kitchen worktop. Her blonde hair was a little windswept, as would be expected in a Scottish November, and her nose was bright red from the bitter air.
"Believe what you like. It's simply two friends having a meal at home because all of their other housemates are going out clubbing and leaving them behind!"
A sharp cough came from the doorframe that joined the kitchen to the dining room and Catherine's head instantly shot up, so fast she was sure that she would end up with whiplash. With a brief surge of concern about when he had arrived, she bit her lip and felt a blush rise up, igniting her cheeks and setting them on fire. His body was draped between the two wooden posts, one hand propped against it and the other covering his stomach. Was it just her or had the room suddenly increased by a few degrees? As his blue orbs bore into her helpless eyes, she felt an overwhelming sense of embarrassment. Maybe she should just stop talking.
"So you'd rather be with those than sharing my lovely company?" William's voice was light, teasing, but she knew him well enough to know that he was prying, hoping to uncover her true feelings about the night ahead.
"Of course not but we have to keep them sweet or they will get jealous, and you and I both know what they're capable of!" It wasn't the best excuse in the book but at least it was partly valid. Two weeks earlier, their housemates had managed to lock them in the spare room and didn't let them out until William feigned a panic attack and threatened to have them beheaded when he became King.
He bowed his head and glanced up at her through his eyelashes causing her stomach to fill with several fluttering butterflies. She wouldn't admit it for fear of humiliation, but she found him terribly attractive and whether it was a date or not, she was going to remember it for the rest of her life. After all, how many others got to spend the night alone with a prince?
After a minute of intense staring, Catherine reluctantly pulled her eyes away and turned to Fergus who was trying to leave the room without drawing attention to himself. "And just where do you think you are going?" Catherine asked, mock authority controlling her voice.
"I have somewhere to be and so does William. We'll be back in about an hour. Have fun ladies!"
Her eyes drifted back up to the spot where William once stood but he had disappeared. Her heart dropped a little but she quickly regained her composure as Olivia approached her.
"Stand up."
"Excuse me?"
She sighed and repeated herself in a bored, monotonous tone. "I said stand up. They have gone to have their man-to-man chat and it's time for us to transform you from Kate Middleton to a beautiful princess-to-be."
"Olivia, it's not a –"
"– a date, I know. But regardless of whatever label you may or may not want to put on it, do you really want to go dressed like that?"
Catherine glanced down at her body and frowned. What was wrong with jeans? And in her opinion, her top was kind of cute...wasn't it? When she opened her mouth to protest, Olivia gave her a pointed look and she immediately backed down. "Fine. But there are rules. I will not be dressed up like I'm expecting him to propose and please, please go easy on the makeup."
With a victorious smile, Olivia led Catherine into her room, sat her down at the dressing table and set to work.
~W&C~
"She likes Italian food. In fact, she said penne al'arrabiata was her favourite dish." Fergus recited from the passenger seat.
"What? What the hell is that?" William's eyes momentarily left the road and stared blankly at his friend. Fergus winced at both William's lack of knowledge about food and the fact that his driving skills were not brilliant when he was focusing on the road, never mind when he wasn't.
"Eyes on the road, Will. Penne al'arrabiata is a spicy Italian dish that combines chilli with basil and pasta for somebody who wants to add a special kick to their pasta."
William scoffed. "Did you Google that?"
Fergus rolled his eyes. "Did you have a better option? No, of course you didn't. So be grateful that I'm doing so much to help you."
He didn't answer but parked his car up outside of Waitrose and got out. It was time to find the ingredients for the best damn Italian dish Kate had ever tasted.
"William, why are we going down every single aisle? You're looking for chilli. It isn't going to be hanging out with the chickens."
"Fergus, shut up. I'm beginning to wonder why I brought you along."
Fergus rolled his eyes at William's flippant tone. "You didn't bring me along. I am not a dog. I offered to help."
"And what a great help you have been. What kind of chilli was it?"
"Either red or green. I'm not really sure what the difference is anyway."
With a quirk of his left eyebrow, William took both packs of chilli and threw them into the basket before making a mental note never to request the help of his housemate again.
~W&C~
The door had slammed several hours earlier indicating their housemates had arrived but neither of the girls had paid any attention. In the confines of their room, the fairy godmother had been at work creating a princess worthy of any prince.
"You look amazing, Kate. You're going to blow him off his feet, honestly."
A smile and a small blush crept upon her face. "Not that it is my intention to do so, but thank you."
Olivia had pinned Catherine's curls in a beautiful up do, pulling every part of her hair back from her face to amplify her dark eye makeup and pale blush. She had also, after several minutes, managed to convince her to wear a black, fairly low cut dress and small heels. Kate had put up the argument that she did not see it necessary to dress up when she wasn't even leaving the house but Olivia had threatened her with multiple offences until she complied and she could not deny that she felt a million dollars.
"You're welcome. Now I need a favour. Well, two actually." Catherine raised her eyebrow, a motion for Olivia to continue. "Firstly, please help me get ready because I have to leave in ten minutes and secondly...promise me I won't come home tomorrow to find that you didn't at least kiss him?"
Her head tilted back and her face contorted with laughter. Without a response, she opened the wardrobe and Olivia smiled, knowing that no response was a positive one.
Meanwhile, William's bedroom resembled that of a walk-in wardrobe. The floor was lost in a sea of ties and shirts and his quilt cover was forgotten under several suit jackets in a range of colours from light grey to jet black. In the midst of it all, like a lost fish, stood William with his face deep within his hands.
"William, calm down. You look, you know...cool."
His eyebrow quirked with anger and confusion – "I look...cool?"
"Yeah!"
"What kind of cool? Cool as in obnoxious-prince-who-is-trying-to-prove-that-he-is-better-than-the-girl-he-is-trying-to-impress or cool as in good-enough-to-impress?"
Fergus let out a sigh. "I didn't know there were so many different definitions of cool." After receiving a deathly glare, he continued. "But good enough to impress. I'm sure you will leave Kate desperate for you. But I have to leave so good luck. Blow her away."
William watched as Fergus closed the door and listened as he greeted Olivia from the confines of his room and as soon as the front door slammed, he began to sweat. This was what the past two weeks had boiled down to. If he couldn't win her over tonight then there was no point in trying anymore. This had to be right.
He looked over his outfit one last time and adjusted the pale blue tie to fit neatly under the collar of his shirt. He took a deep, shaky breath and opened the door. The living and dining area were empty which told William that Catherine was still within her bedroom and unbeknownst to him, she was just as nervous. He glanced over at the kitchen and made sure that the pasta was still simmering from within the pan. With a nervous knock, he waited until she opened the door and was almost certain that he lost his breath when she revealed herself.
It took a moment for William to form words. "You look...incredible. Wow. Umm." He paused and reached for her hand, pulling her into his arms. "I'm not sure how this works when you live in the same house so I thought maybe this would be a good start."
Catherine giggled and nestled into the crook of his neck. "It's good enough for me."
He smiled and took a deep breath. "You smell incredible." She grinned and mentally thanked Olivia for spraying her with perfume while she paced back and forth trying to find something to wear.
"Thanks. You too."
He pulled away and blushed. "Well I suppose we should make the long trip to the dining table." He mentally cursed himself for cracking jokes so early into the night but she seemed relieved by his attempt at loosening the tension.
Catherine walked over to the table but he ran ahead, pulling the chair out and motioning for her to sit down. She smiled up at him and whispered a gentle thank you. He reached for a bottle of red wine and poured it into both of their glasses before sitting in front of her. "So, I say we play a little game."
Her eyes twinkled with amusement and he felt his heart strings tug. "Oh, what kind of game would that be?"
"This or that."
Catherine laughed out loud, her nose scrunching in the process. When her laughter had finally abated, he continued. "Finished?"
She nodded her head but a permanent smirk was etched on her face. "It's just very...typical of a date." She paused and her eyes widened when she realised what she had said. "Not that this is a date but you know what I mean."
William's smile only got wider as he reached for her hand across the table. "I understand. Now that you have finished ridiculing me, I propose we begin. Winter or summer?"
"Winter. Savoury or sweet?"
"Sweet. Birthdays or Christmas?"
"Christmas. Do you realise your oven is full of smoke or are you just choosing to ignore it?" Catherine asked; trying to make light of the situation but feeling genuinely worried.
"What? Shit!" He jumped out of his seat in haste, pulling her arm a little too hard, and ran to the kitchen area. Taking the pan off the heat, he looked back at his date who was sat in her seat trying unsuccessfully to hide her amusement. "This is not funny, Miss Middleton."
Her failed attempt at covering up her laughter finally gave way and she let it all out. "I'm sorry. Do you need any help?"
William shook his head but Catherine stood up and joined him anyway. She looked at the pasta that was far too soft and stuck to the pan and smiled. For a brief moment she wondered whether he had second guessed her favourite food or whether Fergus had mentioned it to him earlier.
"What are you smiling at?" He asked, attempting rather embarrassingly to scrape the pasta from the sides of the pan.
She shook her head and bit her lip, resting her hand softly against his on the pan. "Let me help, please. There's nothing else for me to do and I'd quite like to spend some time with you." Her enticingly soft voice and adorable words worked like magic and William reluctantly released the handle, passing it to her while he grabbed the pan full of sauce from the ring burner.
"I'm sorry this hasn't worked out the way I wanted it to. I've never been a brilliant cook but I wanted to at least try and make it work."
With a giggle, she took a piece of pasta from the pan and pressed it to her lips. After chewing and swallowing, she let out a small, fake moan. "Well it's quite tasty so you haven't done too much of a bad job."
With a gasp of mock hurt, he took the pan from her hand, placed it behind her and pressed her against the counter. "I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you correctly."
With a tilt of her head, Catherine smirked. "I think you heard me just fine." She ducked under his arm and got two plates, placed them on the counter and poured their dinner onto them both.
William stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his head to her ear. "Stealing my job, are we? Next time I think you should probably make the dinner."
Her heart skipped a beat at the natural way in which he mentioned 'next time' but she maintained her composure. "I'm inclined to agree." Pushing backwards with both plates in her hands, she nudged him out of the way and put them on the table.
"Dinner is served."
The two sat down and began to eat at the same time. After the first gulp, their eyes met from across the table. In less than a moment, their laughter was the loudest thing in the house.
William began first. "Well it's not too bad, really."
Catherine snickered and nodded. "Sure, it's um, edible."
He nodded in agreement. "Slightly cold..."
Yet again, the two burst into laughter. Their matching sense of humour was just one of the reasons why they had fallen for one another so deeply.
"So why do you prefer winter to summer?" William asked, chewing on a piece of pasta.
"It's just so festive, everyone is so cheerful and happy and I love that you can also dress up in scarves and gloves and play in the snow with the children. It just reminds me of some of the best times in my childhood." She answered; impressed that he had recalled her answer despite the drama that had occurred earlier.
William smiled at her response but felt a pang of jealousy at the sound of her carefree childhood. Catherine noticed his change in demeanour and wondered what she had done wrong. "What about you? What is your favourite season?"
He was quiet for a moment, as though he was pondering between two possible answers. "I'm inclined to say summer but while it holds some of my fondest memories, it feels rather bittersweet."
Catherine nodded her head, anxious not to push him for more information until he was ready but desperate to uncover the vulnerable side of him that was only just beginning to peer through. She wasn't oblivious to his broken childhood, even though she was just as young when his mother and father divorced and she passed away. His life hadn't been easy but if he could trust her enough to share his thoughts then she would always be there to listen.
"She used to take us to water parks and burger restaurants in the summer. We'd go on holidays away and we would just feel so carefree. There were no responsibilities, no worries about formalities. It felt as though I was a part of any other family. But I'm torn because just thinking about her makes me feel uneasy. When you lose someone so important to you, you learn how to act like it doesn't affect you but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her." He wasn't certain why he was sharing his darkest secrets with her but it felt good to let go of the stronghold it had over him.
Catherine knew who "she" was without having to ask. Regardless of her usually shy nature, she gently touched his hand with the tips of her fingers. "She would be so proud of you. As frustrating as this may sound coming from somebody who still has both of her parents, she wouldn't want you to feel such a bittersweet pang when you think about summer. She would want you to celebrate and feel secure in the knowledge that the days she spent with you were the best days of her life."
William's heart warmed at the sound of her velvet voice whispering the words he had needed to hear for so long. If he wasn't certain before that she ticked all of the boxes, he was now completely convinced that she was perfect.
"Thank you, Kate. Just hearing you say that makes me feel so much better." She smiled softly and he felt as though the whole room had lit up. Before he met her, it had been inconceivable to him that just being in the very presence of another soul could lighten one's mood so drastically but the more time he spent with her close, the better, stronger he felt. "So at the risk of sounding cheesy, I'd like to tell you something."
Her pulse increased to what felt like 100 beats per minute simply from hearing the words leave his pale lips. Her ushered response felt weak in comparison to his confident tone. "Okay."
"I don't know why I just shared all of that with you. I've never told anybody else nor have I ever had the desire to. But for some reason, you make me feel alive just by being around. Someone once told me that just because you are living doesn't mean you feel alive and I never understood what they meant until now, but all I know is that I want to be with you as much as possible. I know that you said this isn't a date and I respect your wishes on that but I just felt compelled to tell you."
Catherine's heart rate continued to play havoc with her as she battled with her mind and her heart over how to react. After a minute of fighting a civil war with herself, she stood up and walked over to him. "I figured I've already broken the rules of a "non-date" meal so I don't see the harm in pushing the boat out a little further." Pulling him up into a standing position, she lifted her head up and pressed her cold lips against his. If she wasn't fully aware of what he meant by feeling alive before, she knew now. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, mixed with passion and confusion causing shivers down her spine. The sensation of his soft lips against hers was utterly divine.
She pulled back reluctantly to regain her breath and rested her head against his. "Who knew breaking the rules could be so fun?"
With a silent laugh, he pressed another kiss to her lips. "I think we should have broken the rules much earlier."
"Mm, me too!"
The half eaten meal lay solemnly on the table, unforgotten by the excited pair who made their way towards the sofa. Hours past as the two cuddled up and shared several kisses and whispers of sweet nothings. When it hit 9 pm, Catherine's stomach began to growl aggressively.
"Hungry?" He asked, teasing her and poking her side.
"Just a little. I didn't finish the dinner."
"I don't blame you." He leaned over to the other end of the sofa and grabbed a takeaway menu. "This came through the door earlier. I don't know whether it's any good but it can't hurt us to try."
"Anything is better than what you cooked. What were you even trying to make?" She asked, feigning innocence before laughing at his offended expression. "I'm kidding. Kind of."
"It doesn't matter," William mumbled quietly. "How does margarita pizza sound?"
"It sounds lovely."
William rang through the order and then reclined back into his date's arms, feeling a sense of belonging in his university life for the first time. The dinner may not have been good enough to rival Jamie Oliver's but as the two snuggled into one another on the cream leather sofa, they were both in unspoken mutual agreement that the night itself could not have gone better.